Bugs
by Dede42
Summary: When a mysterious death occurs at a housing development, the Winchesters go to investigate and discovered that something strange is going on with the local bug life.  Can they solve the case and save everyone? Stay tune to find out!
1. Chapter 1

Supernatural: Bugs

A/N: I'm back! Sorry for not updating sooner, but my beta reader, Yami Faerie, was being stubborn about this story, and there was also that small problem with her laptop, too; but that's all in the past now. Anyway, this involves killer insects.

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Supernatural_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER ONE: ATTACK OF THE KILLER BEETLES!<strong>

OASIS PLAINS, OKLAHOMA…

"Man, these are some phat houses, huh?" said Travis Weaver with an impressed expression on his weathered face as he dug up dirt in the yard of a nearly completed house in a new luxury development. "I'd like to live here." He paused to look around and adjusted the vest he wore that proclaimed him an employee of Oklahoma Gas and Power.

His coworker, Dustin Burwash, was spraying red paint in certain spots. He looked over at Travis and smirked. "Yeah, too bad you can't afford it," he stated.

"Yeah, you're right," Travis sighed longingly. "This neighborhood'll be damn expensive when it's done."

Dustin stopped working when he drew close to a dead tree in the corner of the yard and paused when he heard a rumbling sound. Ever a curious fellow, he went over to a patch of ground and put his hand on it, almost as if he could feel it moving.

"No, this place is perfect," Travis stated and then smacked a bug on the side of his neck. "Except for the mosquitoes," he muttered and started when he heard a collapsing sound, and Dustin screamed for help. Turning to the corner of the yard, he saw that Dustin had fallen into a hole in the ground that hadn't been there just seconds ago. "Dustin?" he called as he rushed over to the hole.

_`"Help me, I'm trapped!"`_ Dustin shouted from the bottom of the hole. _`"I broke my ankle!"`_

"All right, I'll get a rope!" Travis called down and then ran off to their vehicle.

* * *

><p>Inside the hole, Dustin was clutching his bloody ankle, and breathing heavily; hearing a starching noise, he looked around nervously and saw that there were thousands of beetles inside the walls of the hole. Several of them had landed on his hand, and he frantically brushes them off.<p>

"Oh, God," he moaned, scared.

* * *

><p>Travis reached the company truck, opened it, and began searching for a rope. Back inside the hole, tons of beetles were beginning to cover Dustin's body, gathering in groups on his clothing and skin.<p>

_`"Travis, help!"`_ he yelled, scared.

"Hang on!" Travis called back, finally getting a rope from the truck.

* * *

><p>Dustin was now almost entirely covered in beetles, and was completely scared out of his wits. "Travis, help!" he continued to scream as beetles crawled inside his ears and nose.<p>

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Travis was pulling the bundle of rope over his arm. "It's okay, Dustin! It's okay!" Grabbing a flashlight, he ran back to the hole, dropping to his knees. "Dustin? Dustin, I'm here!" He looked into the hole with a flashlight, and was horrified by what he found. "Oh, God."<p>

Inside the hole, and bleeding heavily from the ears, nose, and eyes was Dustin. He was dead.

* * *

><p>Sam was comfortably sprawled on the hood of the Impala, reading a newspaper article about Dustin by streetlight. A minute later, both Dean and Liz came outside, Dean laughing and waving a wad of cash in the air and Liz wearing an expression of satisfaction.<p>

"You know, we could get day jobs once in a while," Sam remarked, peering over the newspaper at the twins.

"Hunting's our day job," Dean retorted. "And the pay is crap."

"Yeah, but hustling pool? Credit card scams?" Sam asked, skeptical. "It's not the most honest thing in the world, Dean, Liz."

"Well, let's see honest," Dean said, holding out one hand. "Fun and easy." And he held out the other, and gestured that "fun and easy" outweighed "honest". "It's no contest. Besides, we're good at it. It's what we were raised to do."

Sam scoffed as he sat up. "Yeah, well, how we were raised was jacked."

"Yeah, says you," Dean said, waving his hand dismissively.

"Anything in the paper?" Liz asked after a moment, relieved that a potential fight hadn't occurred.

"Maybe," Sam answered, getting off the hood and spread the paper out on it. "Oasis Plains, Oklahoma, not far from here. A gas company employee, Dustin Burwash, supposedly died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob," he informed them.

Both Dean and Liz gave him a blank look. "Huh?"

"Human mad cow disease," Sam answered.

"Mad cow. Wasn't that on _Oprah_?" Dean wondered, eying the article.

"You watch _Oprah_?" Sam asked, surprised.

Dean was instantly embarrassed, and couldn't think of anything to say, while Liz chuckled.

"You'd be surprised what I've caught Dean watching," she remarked, enjoying the moment to tease her twin.

"So this guy eats a bad burger," Dean said quickly, changing the topic with a scowl in Liz's direction. "Why is it our kind of thing?" he asked.

"Mad cow disease causes massive brain degeneration," Sam explained. "It takes months, even years, for the damage to appear. But this guy, Dustin? Sounds like his brain disintegrated in about an hour. Maybe less."

"Okay, that's weird," Dean admitted, exchanging a look with Liz.

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "Now, it could be a disease. Or it could be somethin' much nastier."

Dean nodded, getting the point. "All right. Oklahoma," he confirmed and they got in the car. "Man. Work, work, work. No time to spend my money," he joked as they drove off.

* * *

><p>The next day, Dean, Liz, and Sam got out of the car and approached Travis, who was organizing some stuff in his van.<p>

"Travis Weaver?" Sam asked.

Travis nodded. "Yeah, that's right."

"Are you the Travis who worked with Uncle Dusty?" Dean asked.

Travis was surprised by the 'uncle' reference. "Dustin never mentioned nephews or a niece," he remarked.

"Really?" Dean asked, fringing surprise. "Well, he sure mentioned you. He said you were the greatest."

Sam and Liz both nodded. "Yeah."

Travis smiled. "Oh, he did? Huh."

"Listen, we wanted to ask you… what exactly happened out there?" Dean inquired.

"I'm not sure," Travis admitted. "He fell in a sinkhole, I went to the truck to get some rope, and, uh…by the time I got back…" he trailed off, shuddering.

"What did you see?" asked Liz.

"Nothin'," Travis answered. "Just Dustin."

"No wounds or anything?" Sam inquired.

"Well, he was bleeding… from his eyes and his ears, his nose," Travis answered, shrugging. "But that's it."

"So, d'you think he really had mad cow disease?" Liz asked.

"I don't know," Travis admitted. "That's what the doctors are sayin'."

"But if it was, he would've acted strange beforehand, like dementia, loss of motor control," Sam explained. "You ever notice anything like that?"

"No. No way," Travis answered, shrugging. "But then again, if it wasn't some disease, what the hell was it?"

Dean nodded thoughtfully. "That's a good question," he agreed.

"You know, can you tell us where this happened?" Sam asked.

Travis nodded. "Yeah."

* * *

><p>A while later, Dean, Liz, and Sam arrived at the scene of Dustin's death, the sinkhole noticeably surrounded by police tape.<p>

"Huh. What do you guys think?" Dean asked as they left the car and headed across the street.

"I don't know," Sam admitted. "But if that guy, Travis, was right, it happened pretty damn fast."

"Just a matter of seconds," Liz agreed.

They ducked under the police tape and looked into the hole with a flashlight.

"So, what? Some sort of creature chewed on his brain?" Dean wondered.

"No, there'd be an entry wound," Sam stated, frowning. "Sounds like this thing worked from the inside."

"Huh." Dean examined the hole, guessing at the size. "Looks like there's only room for one. You wanna flip a coin or ro-sham-bo it?" he asked, glancing at both Liz and Sam.

Neither Sam or Liz were excited about the prospect of going down into the hole. "You know, we really have no idea what's down there," Liz finally pointed out.

Dean turned the flashlight off, walked toward the house, and picked up a nearby coil of rope. "All right, I'll go if you both are scared," Dean said slyly. "You scared?"

Sam sighed and faced him. "Flip a coin, then," he said, sounding exasperated.

Dean chuckled and took a coin out of his pocket. "All right, call it in the air… chicken," he teased, flipping the coin, and Sam caught it in midair.

"I'm going," Sam stated, handing the coin to Liz.

Dean frowned. "I said I'd go."

Sam glared at him. "I'm going."

Dean shrugged. "All right."

Sam tied the rope around his waist. "Don't drop me," he ordered as Liz and Dean uncoiled the rest of the rope.

* * *

><p>Dean slowly drove through the developing neighborhood while Sam examined a dead beetle he'd found in the sinkhole.<p>

"So you found some beetles," Dean finally said. "In a hole, in the ground. That's shocking, Sam."

"There were no tunnels, no tracks," Sam informed him, brow furrowed as he continued to examine the beetle. "No evidence of any other kind of creature down there. You know, some beetles _do_ eat meat. Now, it's usually dead meat, but…" he trailed off.

"Tell that to the killer bugs in the remake of _The Mummy_," Liz remarked, leaning forward to get a look at the beetle.

Dean snorted. "Fair enough. How many did you find down there?"

"Ten," Sam answered.

"It'd take a whole lot more than that to eat out some dude's brain," Dean remarked.

Sam shrugged. "Well, maybe there were more."

Dean sighed, still uncertain. "I don't know, it sounds like a stretch to me."

"Well, we need more information on the area, the neighborhood," Sam suggested. "Whether something like this has ever happened before."

As they drove through the neighborhood, they passed a sign for an open house, decorated with red balloons, and this caught Dean's attention instantly.

"What?" Sam asked.

"I know a good place to start," Dean commented as they drove past another sign, "Models Open. New Buyers' BBQ Today!".

"Dean…" Liz sighed.

"Hey, I'm kinda hungry for a little barbeque, aren't you?" Dean asked, and Sam gave him a knowing look. "What, we can't talk to the locals?"

"And the free food's got nothin' to do with it?" Sam asked, skeptical.

"Of course not," Dean protested. "I'm a professional."

Sam and Liz exchanged a skeptical look. "Right."

They pulled over and got out of the car, walking down the street to the open house.

Dean looked around at the neat-looking front yards and the stylized houses. "Growin' up in a place like this would freak me out," he stated.

This statement surprised Sam. "Why?"

"Well, manicured lawns," Dean pointed out. "How was your day, honey?" I'd blow my brains out," he complained while Liz chuckled.

"There's nothing wrong with "normal"," Sam protested.

"I'd take our family over normal any day," Dean declared as they approached the house and knocked on the door. The homeowner, Larry Pike, answered.

"Welcome," Larry said, greeting them.

"This the barbeque?" Dean asked.

Larry nodded and smiled. "Yeah, not the best weather, but…I'm Larry Pike, the developer here. And you are…?" he inquired.

"Dean," Dean said doing the introductions. "This is my sister Liz, and this is Sam." And they shook hands.

"Sam, Dean, Liz, good to meet you," Larry said. "So, you three are interested in Oasis Plains?"

Dean nodded. "Yes, sir."

Larry was excited about this. "Let me just say…we accept homeowners of any race, religion, color, or…sexual orientation," he said politely.

Sam and Dean realized what he was trying to say, and Liz was doing her best not to burst out laughing at her brothers' expressions.

"We're _all_ siblings, sir," Dean said quickly, elbowing Liz in order to keep her quiet, and Larry was slightly embarrassed.

"Our father is getting on in years, and we're just lookin' for a place for him," Sam added, trying to relieve some of the awkwardness.

"Great, great," Larry said, still feeling foolish over his mistake. "Well, seniors are welcome, too. Come on in." and he led them outside to the backyard, where there were lots of people walking around, chatting and eating.

"You said you were the developer?" Sam asked, glancing around and watching Liz take deep, calming breaths so she could focus on the job.

"Eighteen months ago, I was walking this valley with my survey team," Larry explained. "There was nothing here but scrub brush and squirrels. And you know what, we built such a nice place to live that I actually bought into it myself. This is our house. We're the first family in Oasis Plains," he added as they walked over to his wife. "This is my wife, Joanie."

"Hi there," Joanie said smiling.

"Hi," Dean said and they shook hands.

"Hi, nice to meet you," she told him.

"Sam, Liz, and Dean," Larry said.

Sam shook her hand. "Sam."

"Liz," Liz added.

Joanie smiled at them. "Pleasure."

"Tell them how much you love the place, honey," Larry suggested. "And lie if you have to because I need to sell some houses," he added with a touch of pleading.

"Right," Joanie agreed and they all laughed.

"Boys, Liz, will you excuse me?" Larry said, leaving to talk with some other people.

"Don't let his salesman routine scare you," Joanie said reassuringly. "This really is a great place to live."

Just then, a very energetic woman in a dark green dress suit approached the Winchesters, her black hair pulled back in a tight bun. "Hi, I'm Lynda Bloome, head of sales," she said with a big fake smile.

"And Lynda was second to move in," Joanie explained, warm smile still firmly in place. "She's a very noisy neighbor, though," she added, leaving.

Lynda laughed. "She's kidding, of course," she said confidently. "I take it you three are interested in becoming homeowners."

"Well…" Dean and Liz both began.

"Y-yeah, well…" Sam stammered.

"They are," Liz quickly said with a smirk. "I'm just along for the free food and sightseeing."

Lynda laughed lightly. "Well," she said to Sam and Dean, "let me just say that we accept homeowners of any race, religion, color, or…sexual orientation."

Liz pressed her lips together and slunk away while Sam tried to keep from groaning. Then Dean gave a small chuckle.

"Right. Um…I'm gonna go talk to Larry," he said, carefully edging away with half an eye on his twin. "Okay, honey?" he added to Sam, smacking his brother on the rear and leaving him to share an awkward silence with Lynda.

Dean was still chuckling when he caught up with Liz. "I can't believe you just _did_ that," he said to her as they continued on their way.

"You _do_ realize they assume you and Sam are _in gay love_ because of how butch you are, right?" Liz responded breezily.

"Hey," Dean protested, "it's not my fault people are assuming that Sam and I are like that." Liz just laughed, knowing that everyone thinking that her brothers were gay was insane, but entertaining. "And I'm not butch," Dean added. "Just… manly."

"Whatever you say, brother dearest," Liz replied with a grin. "Whatever you say."

* * *

><p>AN: The first time I watched this episode and realized what both Larry and Lynda were hinting at, I burst out laughing, and so did my mom once I explained it to her.

R&R everyone!


	2. Chapter 2: SPIDERS

Supernatural: Bugs

A/N: Hi again! I know that it's been a long time, but regular life gets in the way sometimes; any _how_ here's the next chapter.

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Supernatural_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER TWO: SPIDERS<strong>

"You've got three choices," Larry explained to the Winchester twins as they followed him down the stairs of his home. "Carpet, hardwood, and tile."

Just then, both Liz and Dean noticed a jar full of bugs on a nearby table. "Whoa. Someone likes bugs," he remarked.

Larry looked at the jar and sighed. "My son… he's into insects," he said sourly. "He's very… inquisitive."

* * *

><p>Outside, Lynda was still talking to Sam. "Who can say 'no' to a steam shower?" she asked, her fake smile still in place. "I use mine <em>everyday<em>."

"Sounds great," Sam said, not interested in the slightest, and noticed a tarantula crawling toward her hand, which was resting on a table. A few feet away, a teenaged boy was watching avidly. "Excuse me." He pushed Lynda out of the way and carefully let the spider crawl onto his hand, and he brought it over to the kid, who was looking disappointed at the failure of his prank. "Is this yours?" he asked.

The boy took it from him. "You gonna tell my dad?" he asked, sulking.

"I don't know. Who's your dad?" Sam asked, noting at the care that the young man was showing the tarantula as he let it crawl over his hands, showing no fear at all.

The boy scoffed. "Yeah, Larry usually skips me in the family introductions," he grumbled.

"Ouch," Sam said, wincing. "First name basis with the old man… sounds pretty grim."

Larry's son shrugged. "Well, I'm not exactly brochure material."

"Well, hang in there," Sam assured him, thinking of the relationship that he had with his own father. "It gets better, all right? I promise."

"When?" the young man asked, interested.

"Matthew," Larrry's voice cut in sharply. Sam turned to see Larry, Liz, and Dean walking toward them. "I am so sorry about my son and his…pet," Larry apologized.

"It's no bother," Sam said reassuringly.

"Excuse us," Larry requested and he walked away with Matthew.

"Remind you of somebody?" Sam asked his brother and sister, but they only exchanged confused looks before glancing over at Larry, who was yelling at his son. Dean looked back at Sam with a frown. "Dad?" Sam suggested.

Dean and Liz both scoffed. "Dad never treated us like that."

"Well, Dad never treated you two like that," Sam stated, annoyed. "You both were perfect. He was all over my case. You don't remember?"

Dean shrugged. "Well, maybe he had to raise his voice, but sometimes, you were out of line."

"It's true," Liz agreed, recalling the fights all too well.

Sam scoffed. "Right. Right, like when I said I'd rather play soccer than learn bow hunting."

"Bow hunting's an important skill," Dean stated.

Sam rolled his eyes and changed the subject. "Whatever. How was your tour?" he asked.

"Oh, it was excellent. I'm ready to buy," Dean joked and both Liz and Sam laughed. "Anyway, you might be onto somethin'," he added. "Looks like Dustin Burwash wasn't the first strange death around here."

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"About a year ago, before they broke ground, one of Larry's surveyors dropped dead while on the job," Dean explained. "Get this… severe allergic reaction to bee stings."

Sam frowned. "More bugs."

Dean and Liz both nodded. "More bugs."

* * *

><p>Night was falling, and Sam was driving through the neighborhood, while Dean was looking through their father's journal.<p>

"You know, I've heard of killer bees, but killer beetles? What is it that could make different bugs attack?" he wondered, finding nothing that could help explain what was going on.

"Well, hauntings sometimes include bug manifestations," Liz said, leaning over the front seat with her head propped on her arms.

Dean nodded. "Yeah, but I didn't see any evidence of ghost activity."

"And I didn't sneeze once," Liz imputed. "Very little ozone in the whole area."

Sam nodded his agreement.

"Maybe they're being controlled somehow," Dean suggested. "You know, by something or someone."

"You mean, like Willard?" Sam asked and Liz cringed, she'd never forgiven them for making her watch that film, both the original and the remake back-to-back when their dad had been out on a hunt.

Dean nodded. "Yeah, bugs instead of rats."

"There are cases of psychic connections between people and animals'," Sam said slowly, "elementals, telepaths."

"Yeah, that whole Timmy-Lassie thing," Dean agreed and realized something. "Larry's kid… he's got bugs for pets."

"And he had no problem with letting a spider crawl on his hand," Liz added, thinking along the same lines.

"Wait, Matt?" Sam asked, surprised.

Dean and Liz both nodded. "Yeah."

"He did try to scare the realtor with a tarantula," Sam remarked thoughtfully.

"You think he's our Willard?" Dean asked.

Sam shrugged. "I don't know. Anything's possible, I guess."

Dean nodded and then spotted a empty house that was completed. "Ooh, hey. Pull over here."

Sam pulled into the empty driveway of one of the Oasis Plains homes. "What are we doing here?" he asked, exchanging a confused look with Liz.

Dean got out of the car and went to the garage. "It's too late to talk to anybody else," he informed them, pulling the door up.

"We're gonna squat in an empty house?" Sam asked, shocked.

"Are you insane, Dean?" Liz asked, disbelief written all over her face at the sneer insanity of the idea.

"I wanna try the steam shower. Come on," Dean told them, but Sam didn't move. "Come on!"

Reluctantly, Sam pulled the car into the garage, reaching out and hitting Dean in the stomach as he passed. Dean grunted with a small scowl and closed the door.

* * *

><p>Lynda Bloome entered her bedroom and turned on the light before she turned on the television, sat down on the bed, and took her hair out of its bun.<p>

_"__Atoka __Valley __County __began __mandatory __insecticide __spraying __across __a __wide __swath __of __the __district __today,__"_ a lady reporter announced. _"__Authorities __say __the __decision __to __spray __was __made __because __of __several __recent __cases __of __West __Nile __virus, __coupled __with __a __dramatic __increase __in __the __mosquito __population __of __some __areas.__"_

As she watched the news, a large spider crawled out of Lynda's hair and onto her face; she gasped and swiped it away before turning off the television, frightened.

* * *

><p>Lynda quickly retreated to her shower, but while she was washing her hair, a very big spider crawled out from behind the showerhead. In a matter of seconds, hundreds of enormous spiders began crawling out from the tiles. Lynda opened her eyes upon hearing the noise, turned, and screamed; she broke through the glass of the shower doors and tried to run away, but slipped and caught her head on the corner of the bathroom sink, nearly knocking herself out. She started crawling, crying as she felt the multitude of spiders catch up to her, little pinpricks of pain as they starting biting and biting —<p>

A trail of blood led from the bathtub to the bedroom floor. Lynda's body twitched slightly as the spider venom clawed through her veins, eyes staring at nothing as the spiders continued to crawl and bite and cling…

* * *

><p>The next morning, Sam approached the bathroom door, where the shower could be heard running, and he knocked.<p>

"You ever comin' out of there?" he asked.

_"__What?__"_ Dean asked, unable to hear over the running water.

"Dean, a police call came in on the scanner," Sam said loudly, "and Liz is getting the car ready.

_"__Hold __on,__"_ Dean said, still having troubles hearing.

"Someone was found dead three blocks from here," Sam said, frustrated. "Come on."

The bathroom door opened and Dean poked his head out of the steam-filled room, with a towel on his head. "This shower is _awesome_," he said, delighted.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Come on." And he walked away.

* * *

><p>The Winchesters pulled up outside of Lynda's house and got out of the car, opening their umbrellas to protect themselves from the pouring rain. Larry was standing near the base of the driveway, clutching an umbrella of his own as he finished talking to someone on the phone. The Winchester's grimly watched as paramedics carried out Lynda's body in a body bag on a stretcher.<p>

"Hello," Larry said, surprised to see them. "You're, uh, back early," he added, putting his cell phone away.

"Yeah, we just drove in, wanted to take another look at the neighborhood," Dean said.

"What's goin' on?" Sam asked.

"Did someone get hurt?" Liz added.

"You guys met, uh… Lynda Bloome at the barbeque?" Larry asked, hesitantly.

Sam nodded. "The realtor."

"Well, she, uh… passed away last night," Larry informed them.

"What happened?" Dean asked, exchanging a look with Sam and Liz. Another dead body already?

"I'm still tryin' to find out," Larry admitted. "Identified the body for the police." He then noticed a cop waving to him. "Look, I-I'm sorry, this isn't a good time now."

Sam nodded. "It's okay."

Larry returned the nod. "Excuse me." And he left them to talk with the police.

"You know what we have to do, right?" Dean asked grimly.

"Yeah. Get in that house," Sam agreed and Liz nodded.

"See if we got a bug problem."

* * *

><p>A few minutes later, once the police were gone, they climbed over the fence, up the side of the house, and through Lynda's bedroom window.<p>

Dean got in first and saw that the outline of her dead body was drawn on the carpet.

"This looks like the place," he commented once both Sam and Liz were also inside and the window was shut. They walked over to another part of the room, being careful of both the blood and the broken glass. Dean knelt down, picked up a towel, and dropped it when he saw it is covered in dead spiders, which made Liz back up quickly. "Spiders. From Spider Boy?"

"Matt… maybe," Sam admitted, but was really hoping that it wasn't the kid.

* * *

><p>AN: Yikes! Spiders! R&R everyone!


	3. Chapter 3: Bugs Everywhere

Supernatural: Bugs

A/N: Hello once again! So once again I apologize for the long time between postings, and this is partly because both me and my little sister's lives have been crazy busy of late.

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Supernatural_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER THREE: BUGS EVERYWHERE<strong>

The Winchesters pulled up at the curb while across the street, Matt got off a school bus and began walking.

"Isn't his house that way?" Dean asked, pointing in the opposite direction.

Sam and Liz both nodded. "Yup."

"So where's he goin'?" Dean wondered.

"Only one way to find out," Liz commented.

They got out of the car and began following Matt; after going a ways in, they found him in the woods, examining a praying mantis that was on his hand, and he had a insect container in his other hand.

"Hey, Matt. Remember me?" Sam asked.

"What are you doin' out here?" Matt asked, turning to face the siblings, clearly surprised. It seemed no one else tended to come out this way.

Dean smiled. "Well, we wanna talk to you."

"You're not here to buy a house, are you?" Matt asked and Dean shook his head. "W-wait. You're not serial killers?" he stammered and the Winchesters laughed. That was a new one.

"No, no. No, I think you're safe," Sam assured him.

"So, Matt… you sure know a lot about insects," Dean commented.

Matt gave him a suspicious look. "So?" he asked.

"Did you hear what happened to Lynda, the realtor?" Liz asked.

Matt nodded. "I hear she died this morning."

"Mm, that's right," Dean agreed. "Spider bites," he added.

"Matt… you tried to scare her with a spider," Sam stated.

Matt stared at them, surprised once again. "Wait. You think I had something to do with that?" he asked.

Dean and Liz exchanged a look. "You tell us," Dean said.

"That tarantula was a joke," Matt explained. "Anyway, that wouldn't explain the bee attack or the gas company guy."

"You know about those?" Sam asked, surprised.

Matt nodded. "There is somethin' going on here," he explained. "I don't know what… but something's happening with the insects. Let me show you something." He put down both the praying mantis and the container, picked up his backpack, and began leading them to another area.

"So, if you knew about all this bug stuff, why not tell your dad?" Sam asked. "Maybe he could clear everybody out," he suggested.

"Believe me, I've tried," Matt stated. "But, uh, Larry doesn't listen to me."

"Why not?" Sam asked.

Matt shrugged. "Mostly? He's too disappointed in his freak son."

Sam scoffed. "I hear you," he agreed.

"You do?" Dean and Liz both asked, surprised.

Sam turned and gave them both a look. "Matt, how old are you?" he asked.

"Sixteen," Matt answered.

"Well, don't sweat it, because in two years, something great's gonna happen," Sam informed him.

"What?" Matt asked.

"College," Sam answered. After high school, you'll be able to get out of that house and away from your dad."

Dean and Liz both stared at their little brother, shocked by the advice. "What kind of advice is that?" he asked. "Kid should stick with his family."

"Yeah," Liz agreed, hurt.

Sam sighed. "How much further, Matt?" he asked.

"We're close," Matt answered.

Sam glared at both Liz and Dean one more time before he continued walking. A few moments later, they reached a large clearing, where the sounds of hundreds of different insects could be heard among the trees.

"I've been keeping track of insect populations," Matt explained. "It's, um, part of an AP science class."

"You two are like peas in a pod," Dean muttered and Liz chuckled.

Sam ignored him. "What's been happening?" he asked.

"A lot. I mean, from bees to earthworms, beetles… you name it," Matt told them. "It's like they're congregating here," he added.

"Why?" Dean asked.

Matt shrugged. "I don't know."

"What's that?" Sam asked, pointing to a dark patch of grass a few feet away. Curious, they walked over to it and discovered hundreds of worms; Dean carefully tapped some of them, and they fell into the ground, creating a hole. Exchanging a look with Liz, who was standing directly behind him, he crouched down and used a stick to poke around in the hole.

"There's somethin' down there," Dean reported when the stick hit against something hard with a slight echoing sound; he put the stick down and put his hand into the hole. With a disgusted expression, he felt around the dirt and worms until he found something inside the hole. Then he brought his hand back up, and they were all horrified to see, covered in dirt and worms, a human skull.

* * *

><p>Sam, Liz, and Dean pulled up outside the local university and got out of the car; Sam went to the backseat, covered the box of bones with his jacket, took it out, and they headed toward the building.<p>

"So, a bunch of skeletons in an unmarked grave," Sam remarked; after finding the first skull, Liz had retrieved some shovels and they'd dug until they found over a dozen bones and skulls.

"Yeah. Maybe this is a haunting. Pissed off spirits? Some unfinished business?" Dean suggested.

"Probably both," Liz added.

"Yeah," Sam said thoughtfully, "but why bugs? And why now?"

"That's two questions," Dean pointed out, but Sam ignored him. "Yeah, so with that kid back there… why'd you tell him to just ditch his family like that?" he asked.

"Yeah, that was a bit harsh," Liz added, frowning.

Sam shrugged. "Just, uh… I know what the kid's goin' through."

"How 'bout tellin' him to respect his old man, how's that for advice?" Dean suggested, and Liz nodded, fully agreeing.

"Dean, Liz, come on," Sam protested and they stopped walking, facing each other. "This isn't about his old man. You think I didn't respect Dad. That's what this is about," he added.

Dean sighed. "Just forget it, all right? Sorry I brought it up."

"I respected him," Sam stated, not dropping the subject. "But no matter what I did, it was never good enough."

"So what are you sayin'?" Dean asked, hurt. "That Dad was disappointed in you?"

"Was? Is. Always has been," Sam stated.

"That's not true," Liz snapped. "Dad loves you and you know it!"

Dean agreed with Liz. "Why would you think that?" he asked.

"Because I didn't wanna bow hunt or hustle pool… because I wanted to go to school and live my life, which, to our whacked-out family, made _me_ the freak," Sam explained, angrily.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you were kind of like the blonde chick in _The __Munsters_," he complained.

"Dean, you know what most dads are when their kids score a full ride?" Sam asked. "Proud. Most dads don't toss their kids out of the house."

Dean and Liz both winced. "I remember that fight," Liz said softly.

"I seem to recall a few choice phrases comin' out of your mouth, not just Dad's," Dean remarked with a mild scowl.

Sam sighed and looked away. "Yeah," he finally said. "Honestly, the truth is, when we finally do find Dad… I don't know if he's even gonna wanna see me."

"Sam, Dad was never disappointed in you," Dean stated. "Never."

"He was scared," Liz said

"What are you both talkin' about?" Sam asked, confused.

"He was afraid of what could've happened to you if he wasn't around," Dean explained, exchanging a look with Liz. "But even when you two weren't talkin'… he used to swing by Stanford whenever he could." And Sam's expression changed from confusion and hurt to a deep sadness that Liz couldn't help but compare to the look in their father's eyes. "He'd keep an eye on you. Make sure you were safe," Dead added after a moment.

Sam was stunned by this news. "What?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah."

"Why didn't you both tell me any of that?" Sam asked, shocked.

"You could've picked up the phone and called," Liz said. "Two-way street, you know?"

Sam's eyes lowered to the floor and he was silent.

"Come on, we're gonna be late for our appointment," Dean said and walked away.

* * *

><p>Soon, the Winchesters were talking with a professor.<p>

"So, you three are students?" the professor asked.

"Yeah," Sam confirmed. "Yeah, uh, we're in your class… Anthro 101?"

The professor nodded. "Oh, yeah."

"So, what about the bones, Professor?" Dean asked, nodding to the box.

"This is quite an interesting find you've made," the professor remarked. "I'd say they're 170 years old, give or take. The timeframe and the geography heavily suggest Native American."

"Were there any tribes or reservations on that land?" Sam asked, exchanging a look with Liz and Dean.

"Not according to the historical record," the professor remarked. "But the, uh, relocation of native peoples was quite common at that time."

"Right," Sam agreed. "Well, are there any local legends? Oral histories about the area?"

"Well… you know, there's a Euchee tribe in Sapulpa," the professor answered. "It's about sixty miles from here. Someone out there might know the truth."

Dean nodded. "All right."

* * *

><p>Soon the Winchesters were driving through Sapulpa. They stopped and asked a Native American man for directions, and once he directed them where to go, they thanked him and drove away.<p>

* * *

><p>Sam, Liz, and Dean entered the local dinner and found another Native American man playing cards at a table.<p>

"Joe White Tree?" Sam asked, and the man nodded. "We'd like to ask you a few questions, if that's all right," he requested.

"We're students from the university," Dean began.

"No, you're not," Joe stated, surprising them. "You're lying."

Dean was taken aback and Sam and Liz exchanged a surprised look. "Well, truth is-" he began again.

"You know who starts sentence with 'truth is'? Liars," Joe interrupted and returned his attention to his cards.

Dean exchanged another look with his siblings.

"Have you heard of Oasis Plains?" Sam finally asked. "It's a housing development near the Atoka Valley."

Joe glanced at Dean and Liz. "I like him. He's not a liar," he commented. Dean was a little annoyed, but said nothing when Liz elbowed him to be quiet. "I know the area," he answered.

"What can you tell us about the history there?" Sam asked.

"Why do you wanna know?" Joe asked.

"Something… something bad is happening in Oasis Plains," Sam told him. "We think it might have something to do with some old bones we found down there… Native American bones."

"I'll tell you what my grandfather told me, what his grandfather told him," Joe told them. "Two hundred years ago, a band of my ancestors lived in that valley. One day, the American cavalry came to relocate them. They were resistant, the cavalry impatient. As my grandfather put it, on the night the moon and the sun share the sky as equals, the cavalry first raided our village. They murdered, raped. The next day, the cavalry came again, and the next, and the next. And on the sixth night, the cavalry came one last time. And by the time the sun rose, every man, woman, and child still in the village was dead. They say on the sixth night, as the chief of the village lay dying, he whispered to the heavens that no white man would ever tarnish this land again. Nature would rise up and protect the valley. And it would bring as many days of misery and death to the white man as the cavalry had brought upon his people."

"Insects," Dean remarked. "Sounds like nature to me. Six days."

"And on the night of the sixth day, none would survive," Joe added, and the Winchesters exchanged a look. This wasn't good news.

* * *

><p>Soon the Winchesters were walking back to the car.<p>

"When did the gas company man die?" Sam asked.

"Uh, let's see, we got here Tuesday, so, Friday the twentieth," Dean answered.

"March twentieth?" Sam asked and both Dean and Liz nodded. "That's the spring equinox."

Dean and Liz exchanged a look. "The night the sun and the moon share the sky as equals," they said together.

Sam nodded. "So, every year about this time, anybody in Oasis Plains is in danger," he said, realizing the truth. "Larry built this neighborhood on cursed land."

Dean sighed, realizing what this meant. "And on the sixth night… that's tonight."

"If we don't do something, Larry's family will be dead by sunrise," Sam stated. "So how do we break the curse?"

"You don't break a curse," Dean told him seriously. "You get out of its way. We've gotta get those people out now." They got in the car and drove away.

* * *

><p>AN: Let's hope that the Winchesters can save Larry and his family in time. R&R everyone!


	4. Chapter 4: THE LONG NIGHT

Supernatural: Bugs

A/N: Well, despite the lack of reviews, I'm uploading the final chapter. So, if you really,_ really_ enjoy my stories, then please let me know.

Like all writers, I'd _love_ to know what you think, what you like, and what you dislike, too. So _please_ review please.

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Supernatural_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER FOUR: THE LONG NIGHT<strong>

Matt was in the backyard with a flashlight, looking for more insects to add to his collection when he heard a noise coming from the ground. He crouched down by a patch of ground and moved a rock aside to reveal a small hole. Suddenly, tons of cockroaches came crawling out from under the dirt, and he ran back into the house, deciding that maybe he didn't need any more insects, after all.

* * *

><p>Dean was driving while talking on the phone with Larry. "Yes, Mr. Pike, there's a mainline gas leak in your neighborhood," he lied, hoping to get Larry, his wife, and their son Matt out of the house before it was too late.<p>

_`"God, really? And how big?"`_ Larry asked, worried.

"Well, it's fairly extensive," Dean explained. "I don't want to alarm you, but we need your family out of the vicinity for at least twelve hours or so, just to be safe."

_`"And who is this, again?"`_ Larry asked.

"Travis Weaver," Dean answered. "I work for Oklahoma Gas and Power."

_`"Uh-huh. Well, the problem is, I know Travis,"`_ Larry stated angrily. _`"He's worked with us for a year, so who is this?"`_ he demanded.

"Uh…" Dean panicked, and quickly hung up.

"I told you that you should've used a different name," Liz scolded Dean, frustrated.

"Give me the phone," Sam said quickly, took the phone from Dean, and dialed a number.

_`"Hello?"`_

"Matt, it's Sam," Sam said quickly, hoping that his plan would work.

_`"Sam, my backyard is crawling with cockroaches,"` _Matt informed him, worried.

"Matt, just listen," Sam requested. "You have to get your family out of that house right now, okay?"

_`"What, why?"`_ Matt asked.

"Because something's coming," Sam answered, going for the truth.

_`"More bugs?"`_

"Yeah, a lot more," Sam confirmed.

_`"My dad doesn't listen in the best of circumstances, what am I supposed to tell him?"`_ Matt asked, unsure that his dad would even listen to him.

"You've gotta make him listen, okay?" Sam suggested.

"Give me the phone, give me the phone," Dean ordered, grabbing the phone from Sam. "Matt, under no circumstances are you to tell the truth, they'll just think you're nuts," he ordered.

_`"But he's my-"`_ Matt began.

"Tell him you have a sharp pain in your right side and you've gotta go to the hospital, okay?" Dean instructed, interrupting.

_`"Yeah. Yeah, okay,"`_ Matt agreed and he hung up, and so did Dean, who gave Sam a sharp look.

"Make him listen? What are you thinkin'?" he asked, annoyed.

* * *

><p>A while later, they pulled up outside Larry's house, and Larry looked out the window and, seeing their car, went outside.<p>

"Damn it, they're still here," Dean grumbled, spotting the car in the driveway. "Come on." They got out of the car, just as both Larry and Matt came outside.

"Get off my property before I call the cops," Larry ordered angrily.

"Mr. Pike, listen-" Sam began.

"Dad, they're just tryin' to help," Matt pleaded.

Larry turned on him. "Get in the house!" he snapped.

Matt ignored his dad and turned to them. "I'm sorry. I told him the truth," he confessed.

"We had a plan, Matt, what happened to the plan?" Dean asked, recalling that Matt was suppose to lie.

"Look, it's 12:00 AM," Sam explained, cutting in. "They're coming any minute now. You need to get your family and go, before it's too late."

Larry scoffed, not believing it for a second. "Yeah, you mean before the biblical swarm."

"Larry, what do you think really happened to that realtor, huh?" Dean asked. "And the gas company guy? You don't think somethin' weird's goin' on here?"

"We're telling the truth, sir," Liz stated, "and if we don't get out of here, we're all gonna die _very_ painful deaths!"

"Look, I don't know who you are, but you're crazy," Larry said angrily, ignoring the truth. "You come near my boy or my family again, and we're gonna have a problem."

"Well, I hate to be a downer, but we've got a problem right now," Dean snapped.

"Dad, they're right, okay? We're in danger," Matt pleaded again.

"Matt, get inside!" Larry yelled, losing his temper. "Now!"

"No!" Matt shouted, losing his own temper. "Why won't you listen to me?"

"Because this is crazy!" Larry yelled. "It doesn't make any sense!"

"Look, this land is cursed!" Sam yelled, his patience snapping. "People have died here. Now, are you gonna really take that risk with your family?"

Just then, Dean held up a hand, having just heard something. "Wait," he said, and they all went silent. "You hear it?" he asked.

"I do," Liz said quietly, frowning.

From somewhere nearby, a very loud buzzing noise could be heard, and it was getting louder by the second.

"What the hell?" Larry asked, and then the fluorescent bug light on the porch began to overheat, killing several bugs at a time.

"All right, it's time to go," Dean ordered, realizing they were running out of time. "Larry, get your wife."

"Guys," Matt said, staring up at the sky; they all looked upward and saw millions of bugs flying toward the house, blanketing the sky.

"Oh my God," Larry gasped, and was now a believer.

"We'll never make it," Sam said, worried while Liz gulped.

"Everybody in the house," Dean instructed, changing the game plan. "Everybody in the house, go!" and they rushed inside the house and locked the door.

"Okay, is there anybody else in the neighborhood?" Sam asked.

Larry shook his head. "No, it's just us."

Joanie entered the entrance hallway, having heard all the noise. "Honey, what's happening?" she asked. "What's that noise?"

"Call 911," Larry told her, but she didn't move. "Joanie!"

"Okay," Joanie said, worried, and she picked up the phone and dialed.

"We need towels," Dean requested.

"Uh, in the closet," Larry said, and led the way.

Sam turned to Matt. "Okay, we've gotta lock this place up, come on… doors, windows, fireplace, everything, okay?" he told him and they ran upstairs.

"Phones are dead," Joanie reported.

"They must have chewed through the phone lines," Dean remarked as he and Liz crammed towels into the base of the front door when the power went out. "And the power lines," he added.

"Dean, I normally don't say this, but I'm scared," Liz confessed, the fear plain on her face.

"We'll get through this, Liz, don't worry," Dean said reassuringly.

"I need my cell," Larry said, picking up his cell phone, and checked. "No signal."

"You won't get one," Dean told them, nodding toward the window. "They're blanketing the house." And sure enough, millions of bugs were collecting on the doors and windows, covering the entire building. Sam and Matt came back downstairs, and they all watched, waiting.

"So what do we do now?" Larry asked.

"We try to outlast it," Sam answered. "Hopefully, the curse will end at sunrise."

"Hopefully?" Larry asked, uncertain.

* * *

><p>Heading into the kitchen, both Dean and Liz searched the cabinets; Dean found a can of bug spray under the sink, and returned to the living room.<p>

"Bug spray?" Joanie asked, noting the irony of the can.

"Trust me," Dean assured her, when they heard a creaking noise coming from somewhere around the fireplace.

"What is that?" Matt asked.

"The flue," Sam whispered, realizing that he and Matt had forgotten to seal it up.

"All right, I think everybody needs to get upstairs," Dean suggested slowly. Suddenly, hundreds of thousands of bugs came into the living room, swarming all around them; Larry's family all screamed as the entire group tried to protect themselves. Dean used a lighter with the can of bug spray to make it flare up, and the flame warded some of the bugs away. "All right, everybody upstairs! Now! Go, go, go!" he ordered, yelling over the noise.

* * *

><p>He ran upstairs with them into the attic, and both Sam and Liz closed the door. After a moment of being in the attic, sawdust began to fall from the ceiling, and the buzz of the bees got louder.<p>

"Oh, God, what's that?" Joanie asked, scared.

The Winchesters moved toward the source of the sawdust, confusion on their faces. "Something's eating through the wood," Dean whispered.

Matt gulped. "Termites."

"All right, everybody get back," Dean ordered. "Get back, get back, get back!"

The three Pikes moved as far into the corner of the attic as they could. A second later, the bugs chewed a hole through the ceiling and swarmed around the room; Sam, Liz, and Dean all frantically tried to patch up the hole in the ceiling, but this only worked for a minute. Soon, two more holes were chewed through the ceiling, and while Dean tried to ward them off with bug spray, nothing seemed to work.

The six of them cowered in the corner, trying desperately to swat the bugs away for a few minutes. Then, suddenly, the sun began to rise, and the bugs started to leave through the hole in the ceiling. Confused, Sam, Liz, and Dean went to see what happened. Through the hole, they could see the bugs in the sky, near the sun, in one enormous colony, and the six of them continued watching, relieved. The long night was _finally_ over.

* * *

><p>Later that same day, Dean, Liz, and Sam approach Larry, who was placing boxes into a moving van.<p>

"What, no goodbye?" Dean asked, surprised at how quickly they were moving.

"Good timing," Larry commented, facing them. "Another hour and we'd have been gone." And he shook their hands.

"For good?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," Larry agreed. "The development's been put on hold while the government investigates those bones you found. But I'm gonna make damn sure no one lives here again," he added.

"Smart thinking," Liz agreed, looking around. It was a beautiful place, but with the curse, it was also a death trap.

"You don't seem too upset about it," Sam remarked.

"Well, this has been the biggest financial disaster of my career, but…" Larry looked over at Matt, who was carrying a box to the garbage "… somehow, I really don't care."

They shared a smile, and Sam walked over to Matt, who was throwing away all his insect paraphernalia.

"What's this?" he asked, surprised.

"I don't know, Matt admitted, slightly wistfully. "They kind of weird me out now." And they both laughed.

"Yeah, I should hope so," Sam agreed, chuckling.

* * *

><p>A few minutes later, Sam joined Dean and Liz by the car, and they watched Larry and Matt, who were now getting along very well.<p>

"I wanna find Dad," Sam said suddenly, but his siblings weren't too surprise by this statement.

"Yeah, me too," Dean agreed.

"Yeah," Liz agreed.

"I just… I want to apologize to him," Sam added.

Dean and Liz both looked at him, surprised and confused. "For what?"

"All the things I said to him," Sam admitted. "He was just doin' the best he could."

"Well, don't worry, we'll find him," Dean assured him. "And then you'll apologize. And then within five minutes, you guys will be at each other's throats," he added and Liz laughed since it was probably true.

Sam also laughed. "Yeah, probably," he agreed, and they sat in silence for a few seconds. "Let's hit the road."

Dean and Liz both nodded. "Let's."

They got in the car, gave one last wave to Larry and Matt, and drove away to find another job, clues to finding their dad, and another day of living.

* * *

><p>AN: And cut! That's all for this story, folks. R&R everyone!


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